“I am as like to call thee so again, to spite on thee again”
He also says,
“Lend it not as to thy friend, lend thee as enemy”
Like Antonio the Christians disliked shylock as he was a Jew. Jews were allowed the jobs that Christians hated like skinning animals. Their education was separated. I know that shylock and Antonio hate each other as shylock tricks Antonio into signing the contract. At the end of the agreement they both get what they want as shylock tricks Antonio and Antonio gets his money.
This scene opens with salerio and solanio teasing shylock. We know that they don’t like shylock because they address him as
“Devil.”
In Elizabeth England it was not considered improper to call a Jew a devil because they were regarded as infidels and heretics.
Both salerio and solanio are delighted at the fact that shylocks daughter Jessica has run away with all of his money and the jewels. To make matters worse she ran away with a Christian. At this point the audience do sympathise with shylock because he is really upset and it’s quite cruel as salerio and solanio are getting pleasure from teasing him.
In the speech, “Hath not a Jew eyes” shylock asks a lot of rhetorical questions, this tells me he is very angry especially as he doesn’t take a breath. In the speech he says
“If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?”
Shylock is telling us that Jews as every bit human as Christians are, and if a Christian wrongs a Jew they shall take revenge. Shylock repeats himself quite a lot this suggests to me he is irate.
In the court room Shylock is referred to as “the Jew.” To deny someone his name is to deem them not worthy of a name and this antagonises Shylock immediately.
Shylock refused to give up his bond in a very long speech telling how he doesn’t have to explain why he wants a pound of flesh as he says,
“Ill not answer that.”
It is very difficult for an audience to have sympathy for Shylock when he says “I give no reason nor I will not.”
In the court room he is not at all nervous as he continually tries to answer Bassanio as arrogantly as possible when Bassanio says
“Do all men kill the thing they do not love?” Shylock answers “hates any man he thinks he would not kill.” Shylock refuses when Bassanio offers him twice his money he says
“I would not draw them: I have my bond!”
By saying this we know that Shylock really wants to get revenge on Antonio, if not by hurting him then by killing him. Shylock has his knife ready and scales to weigh the flesh.
When Shylock refuses to have a surgeon attend to help stop the bleeding the audience looses all sympathy for him and I enjoy the fact that Shylock has to give all his money and jewels to his daughter and her Christian lover and become a Christian.
Jane Eastwood
12A2
